betta fish sick please help!

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alexkazam

Registered Member
May 10, 2010
2
0
0
Hi I have a betta fish. He's been sick and I have no idea what to do because it seems like a combination of several things

Background:
-I feed kavi once a day with BioGold. Change his water 100% once a week
-I moved to a new home with my male betta fish Kavi
-he was at first in the kitchen, but it was too near the microwave so i moved him
-i changed his water conditioner because i couldn't find his old conditioner at the store
-about 2 weeks ago i decided to give him some bloodworms, only one a day
THEN
-his fins started clamping up
-no bubble nests
-stayed on the bottom of his tank
it was only until about a couple of days ago that it really seemed like a problem, and not just being lethargic
-he can't swim, like he's lost his ability to float


now:

his fins are clamped, his color is dull, he is staying on the bottom of the tank all of the time, not even coming up for his food, little red veins are showing up at the base of his tail and fins, can't swim, breathing heavily, and white patches forming at the tips of his tail and fins.

I think he has something wrong with his swim bladder, and that at first it might just be constipation blocking the swim bladder so I'm going to fast him for 2 days. I moved him to a smaller container so he has much less space to swim to get air, i used Bettafix as a general precaution in the beginning. Since I moved him to the smaller container I put 2 drops of that in and half a drop of Aquarium Solutions Betta Revive to get rid of any kind of fungal of bacterial disease.The white stuff might be fungal so that might clear it up. If its constipation, then what else should I do besides the fasting? And if the constipation isn't the problem, what do I do, does that mean its something with his swim bladder? what do I do then? Is there a certain kind of medicine I can use?

PLEASE HELP. I love this little guy and I don't want him to die. I'm doing my very best, please tell me what I need to do!
 

Reframer

AC Members
Feb 22, 2009
1,023
0
36
Minnesota
Ok, will need to know a few things first. What size tank is this, do you have a heater, and do you have a filter.
I suspect that it is a bacterial infection due to poor water conditions. IT's good that you do do water changes, but if you don't have a filter you will need to do them 3 times a week. Smaller, more frequent water changes are best. A filter is really a must in order to cycle the tank.
The best course of treatment is to continue with the betta revive and do daily 70% water changes. Daily water changes will go a long way in aiding the fish's ability to recover.
 

Juice

KillaOJ
Jan 4, 2009
1,132
0
36
37
NorCal
Get prime water conditioner, a heater if you don't have one already ( one that isn't preset, that you can lower or higher temp).

You gave info but not too much to really go off of. How big is his tank? Betta's thrive best in 3gallon+ aquariums..3g being the smallest. If he is in an unfiltered tank you should have been doing much more then 100% water changes weekly. If he is in a filtered tank, has it been established/cycled? You made no mention of water params so I'm guessing you have no idea what your water quality is like at the moment. I suggest a API test kit for freshwater tanks, it's one of the best out there.

My betta also had clamped fins after I rescued him so I bought a better heater and he perked right up. Mine is at the moment dealing with fin rot and I have no experience in medications so hopefully someone else can help you out in that area.

When you do your water changes do you use temperature matched water?? This is also very important as to not shock/stress your betta.

Sounds to me like your betta is fighting the good fight and I hope you update us with a little more information. Good luck!
 

mel_20_20

AC Members
Sep 1, 2008
3,300
1
38
Deep in the heart of texas
Betta breeders do 100% water changes daily, which I believe will help your little guy get over this. It sounds like bacterial fin rot, which is usually due to water quality issues.

The water needs to be temperature matched, and Prime is an excellent conditioner to use.

He needs to have his temperature stable at around 78 degrees, and his tank needs to be filtered.

If he's having problems swimming I would lower the water level to make sure he can swim to the surface for a gulp of air, or have a silk plant or one of those Betta hammocks that stick to the side of the tank for him to rest on.

Pristine water is probably all that he needs, though the Betta revive is probably helpful.
 
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